Inspiring Excellence

We would like to extend a big thank you to Charlie Harris (Year 10 student), who spoke about inspiring excellence at this week’s K-2 assembly. It is wonderful to have role models from the Senior School, such as Charlie, visiting our younger students to convey such an important message.

Charlie has kindly shared a transcript of his speech:

Good afternoon, teachers and boys,

Today, I want to talk about something very important—inspiring excellence. You might have heard those words before, but what do they mean? To inspire means to make others feel like they can do something great. And excellence means doing the very best you can.

But here’s the good news: inspiring excellence doesn’t mean you have to be the best at everything. It’s not just about scoring five goals at lunchtime or getting everything right. It’s about trying your best every single time, even when things are tricky.

Think about your favourite game, like soccer or basketball, or maybe something you love doing, like drawing. If you want to get better at it, what do you do? You practice! And each time you practice, you get just a little bit better. That’s what excellence is—it’s working hard and improving step by step. You don’t have to be perfect to be excellent. You just have to keep trying your hardest.

There’s a great movie called Ratatouille about a little rat named Remy who wants to be a chef. Everyone tells him he can’t do it because he’s just a rat, but he doesn’t give up. He works hard, makes mistakes, and learns from them. By trying his best, Remy inspires the people around him to believe in themselves, too. That’s what it means to inspire excellence—to try your best and help others do the same!

Inspiring excellence can happen in lots of little ways. Maybe it’s adding extra details to your drawings—like drawing clouds, flowers, or even a rainbow. Or it could be inviting all your friends to play a game at recess so that no one feels left out. It might be sharing your toys or helping someone who’s stuck on a tricky question in class. It could even be scoring lots of goals in your soccer game, as long as you’re sharing the ball with your teammates and cheering them on.

The next time you’re in class or out on the playground, think to yourself, “How can I inspire excellence today?” Maybe it’s by working a little harder or being kinder to someone who needs a friend. Remember, anyone can inspire excellence—it just takes some extra effort and a kind heart.

Thank you for listening, and I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day!